- 81
Bikash Bhattacharjee
Description
- Bikash Bhattacharjee
- Enticed (Lady on Roof)
- Signed and dated 'Bikash '86' lower left
- Oil on canvas
- 106 by 101 cm. (41 ¾ by 39 ¾ in.)
- Painted in 1986
Provenance
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Bhattacharjee often placed his central subject slightly off-centre and gave them a direct gaze that unnerves the viewer. His highly finished technique meant there were minimal visible brushstrokes making many of his paintings appear like photographs or stills from a film. "What you see is a single moment in time... Painting should be like this. It should have a mystery, a story. My passion for narrative and its sudden arrest was formed during the days when I used to watch films at Film Society. The dramatic narrative fascinated me." (Shubhani Sarkar and Rudrani Sarkar, Bikash 2000, CIMA, Calcutta, 2001, cited in S. Bean, Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence, Thames & Hudson, London, 2013, p.133).
Bhattacharjee was also greatly influenced by the work of American realist painter Andrew Wyeth. Both Bhattacharjee and Wyeth were committed realists and like Wyeth who painted people and places that were familiar to him, Bhattacharjee focused on the life and culture of his home city of Calcutta, highlighting the daily struggle, corruption and social inequalities within society. He admired Wyeth’s treatment of light and shadow, and his use of windows and empty spaces as compositional and evocative devices. (ibid., p.132).
Throughout his career Bhattacharjee was particularly known for his depiction of middle-class Bengali women. 'The relationship between woman and goddess runs through the artist's oeuvre: beginning with paintings of the woman hidden within the goddess, he progresses to images of ordinary women possessed with divine power.' (A. Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern and Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai, 2005, p. 20).